The Notable Films of 2010: Part Three

Summary: The story of a biotechnology executive who defied great odds to pursue a cure for his children’s life threatening Pompe disease. He and his wife raise money to hire a research scientist and form a company to develop a drug to save his children’s lives.

Analysis: The debut theatrical release of CBS Films sounds like a more hi-tech version of “Lorenzo’s Oil” as one father bucks the medical system and develops his own treatment for his long-suffering child. Robert Nelson Jacobs adapted the screenplay and has made a habit out of adapting acclaimed books like “Chocolat,” “The Shipping News” and “The Water Horse”. Director Tom Vaughan though is a more mixed bag with his two previous features being the great “Starter for 10” and the god awful “What Happens in Vegas”.

The January release date is a little unnerving, as is the trailer which looks too much like a rather feel-good sanitised melodrama (ie. “The Pursuit of Happyness”) than a well-written anti-establishment crusading piece (ie. “Erin Brockovich”). It’s also going for the sick kid tear-jerker angle that Hollywood too often brazenly exploits for revenue under the guise of being a ‘message movie’.